Top 10 signs USC didn't run up the score against Wazzu

As mentioned before, I had to pass up USC-Washington State for a game with actual intrigue (UCLA-Stanford). Thanks to the magic of TiVo, the Trojans' contest (I use the term ironically) against the Cougars was palatable. You really have to feel bad for the Wazzu, and not just because they live in, well, Wazzu.

There was a bit of talk about USC piling it on. And perhaps you could argue that's true, because USC didn't agree to play with its shoes untied. Otherwise, it seems a bit tacky that CBS' Tim Brando would say the Trojans were running up the score. Verne Lundquist didn't disagree. I do.

Here's why, in rough chronological order:

1. Joe McKnight didn't suit up. Sure, he had turf toe, but he said earlier this week that he would have played if this game wasn't against Wazzu. He later took it back, but we all know better.
2. With the ball in the red zone, USC ran out the clock to end the half. The first half.
3. Starting quarterback Mark Sanchez stopped throwing the ball with 32 minutes left in the game (translation: first half). He was left in for the first series of the second half, evidently to practice his handoffs and didn't even throw on third and 19. His day ended three minutes after the second-half kickoff.
4. Mitch Mustain, USC's No. 2 quarterback, was allowed only one pass. It was the only passing attempt of the second half.
5. After Mustain, Pete Carroll put in Aaron Corp and later Garrett Green -- apparently with firm instructions that they would have to find their own ride home if they attempted a forward pass.
6. No single running back was featured. Instead, three tailbacks each had more than 100 yards rushing. Four more players carried once.
7. Broderick Green took almost all the reps in the second half. When Allen Bradford was healthy, he was the fifth-string tailback. Fifth.
8. On the fourth-quarter play when USC "went for it" on fourth down, the alternative was to kick a field goal (thereby "trying to run up the score"). So the Trojans ran on fourth and 5. Another alternative might have been to insult Wazzu by taking a knee or kicking a 5-yard punt. Carroll did not look happy about the touchdown.
9. Every single player who made the trip got on the field. Walk-ons played. It was like Rudy, but only halfway through the season. Gerald Washington got a tackle. Remember that the NCAA limits the number of athletes you can bring on the road, otherwise they might have suited up a tuba player.
10. Most of the play-calling in the second half? Zone blocking and running.

-- Adam Rose
Photo by Wally Skalij/LA Times

Comments

[gerrrg]

They could have told the running backs to run backwards, blindfolded, after a 10 second count.

I suppose.

[char]

Haaaa Haaa Rudy!!!

[Eric]

Great post.

[dee]

11. When Wazzu fumbled the ball in the 4th quarter, USC didn't even appear to try and recover it.

WSU's defense was just so tired, I think my third grader could've run and scored on them.

[johne]

I live in the Northwest and listened to the radio broadcast from WSU. "Pete Carroll has real class" was the theme in the second half from the hokey WSU announcers. "He isn't trying to do anything special we just have to stop them." They said he was arguing with an official that the clock should run "so he doesn't have to score again." Of course, they are mad at Riley for running the score up on them so they thought USC was pure class. "The rule book says you have to run a play, nothing else they can do," they said.

[JC]

I saw the attendance was just over 25,000. When was the last time USC played in front of such a small crowd?

[Bobak]

CBS' announcers clearly didn't watch the game. I made the trip, and as johne points out, the local sports radio stations after the game were all talking about (1) how USC didn't run up the score and (2) how classy Carroll's win was. The Cougars fans were all very nice and I think Trojans fan also behaved well.